Plant: Weeping Cherry
Source: Sundown Gardens
Planted: Summer 2002
Blooms: Early April
Notes: Thriving but gets eaten by Japanese beetles unless we spray it in time. |
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Plant: Magnolia Bush "Jane"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Planted: 3/5/04
Blooms: Early April
Notes: The foliage has filled out well over the years and the bush itself has grown substantially. We have Clematis Polish Spirit growing through it which fills out the foliage nicely. We cut the clematis back to 12 inches above the ground each spring. Blooms again intermittently throughout the summer. We love our beautiful Jane. |
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Plant: Plum "Big Cis"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/3/05
Blooms: Early April
Notes: Planted in back yard between Thuja "Green Giant" and Norway spruce. The Japanese beetles find it quite delicious. Doing very well but we'll probably remove it in 2008 since it was planted to take up space between the thuja and spruce. Those two are now touching, so the plum's job here is done. |
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Plant: Cherry "Kwanza"
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/27/05
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted at back of property. Clematis Hagley Hybrid is planted at its base. |
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Plant: Cleveland Pear
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/27/05
Blooms: Early April
Notes: Planted at back of property. Clematis Warsaw Nike is planted at its base. This has filled out very well and grown several feet. |
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Plant: Flowering Almond
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/18/04
Blooms: Mid-April
Notes: Planted in back garden. Only 6 - 8 inches tall when planted, it still flowered like crazy its first season and was two feet tall by mid-June 2005. It continues to grow quickly and we have pruned it back to encourage more bushiness. By August 2006, it had filled in completely and was a full-blown bush three feet tall by three feet wide. |
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Plant: Pink Tree Peony
Source: Sundown Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 10/20/05
Blooms: Early May
Notes: Planted in back garden. Got this for 70% off which made it affordable. These are expensive plants, but after buying a small one and watching it die, I'm happy to have a fairly mature specimen.
In 2006, it bloomed nicely in the spring but looked lousy the rest of the season. It did just the opposite in 2007 -- didn't bloom at all, but looked very healthy. I'll give it another year or two to see if it becomes better established. |
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Plant: Lilac Bush
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Planted: 5/9/04
Blooms: Early May
Notes: This was a free gift when making a purchase at Spring
Hill Nursery in Ohio on Mother's Day. It was less than a foot tall when we planted it. Moved to our back garden in 2004, then to the far back garden in 2006, then to the back corner in 2007, since it continues to outgrow its space. It is now in a location where it can grow as large as it likes. |
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Plant: Lilac "Beauty of Moscow"
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 2
Planted: 5/29/05
Notes: Planted in back garden, then moved to far back garden on 5/28/06. These still haven't bloomed yet, but finally started to grow quickly in 2006. Clematis Snow Queen is planted at its base. Moved to far back corner of yard where it can continue to grow. |
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Plant: Hawthorne Tree "Winter King"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Planted: 8/1/03
Blooms: Early May
Notes: This tree has tiny white flowers in the spring and bright red berries through the winter. The bark is beautiful and it has retained its beautiful shape since we planted it. |
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Plant: Chinese Dogwood "Kousa"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/27/05
Blooms: Late May
Notes: Planted at back of property. Did bloom in 2006, and only a few blooms appeared in 2007. This was a fairly expensive tree and it has turned out to be disappointing. |
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Plant: Kalmia "Peppermint"
Source: Wayside Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/25/05
Blooms: Early June
Notes: Planted in far back garden in front of evergreens. Very slow growth, but I love this shrub with its glossy evergreen leaves and beautiful peppermint-striped blooms shaped like hexagon saucers.
Moved to back garden where it continues to stay extremely small, but it works better there as a small evergreen focal point. In 2007, most of the buds rotted without blooming, and many of the leaves were spotted by disease, but it recovered by blooming late and sprouting new leaves in the fall. |
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Plant: Hibiscus syriacus (Pink Peony)
Quantity: 1
Blooms: Early July
Notes: We trim this plant back every year since it is higher than the roofline of the garage next to it. It attracts Japanese beetles and creates many seedlings each spring. Moved clematis Mme. Le Coultre and clematis Multi Blue to grow through it in spring 2007. |
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Plant: Hibiscus syriacus "Red Heart"
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 1
Planted: 7/20/03
Blooms: Early July
Notes: To complete our hibiscus syriacus set, we bought a white non-peony variety. It was two feet tall when we bought it. We moved it to a sunnier location 7/31/05 and it is thriving. Clematis Bees Jubilee is growing through it. |
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Plant: Dwarf Japanese Maple "Ever Red"
Source: Sundown Gardens
Planted: 3/5/04
Notes: The tree has very small red buds on it for a week or two in spring. It's very healthy and beautiful. |
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Plant: Japanese Maple "Nishiki Gawa" (or "Pine Bark")
Source: Seasons Gardens
Planted: 10/12/05
Notes: Incredible bright red color in fall. Leaves are green with red at the tips in spring. Planted at the back of our property in line with our other evergreens and ornamentals. The bark is highly unusual. Moved it to the side garden in fall 2007 without any transplant shock at all. |
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Plant: Mugho Pine
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 3
Planted: 10/11/04
Notes: Planted just behind the weeping cherry. A few branches died early on, but they're now thriving and growing slowly.. |
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Plant: Thuja "Green Giant"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 4
Planted: 3/25/05, 9/27/05
Notes: Planted in back yard with Norway spruce in spring and fall of 2005.
These are growing quickly and filling in nicely. |
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Plant: Norway Spruce
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 4
Planted: 3/25/05, 9/27/05
Notes: Planted in back yard with Thuja "Green Giant."
These are all thriving and growing really quickly -- in some cases, even faster than the thujas next to them. |
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Plant: Arborvitae "Emerald Green"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 24
Planted: 9/10/04, 9/27/05
Notes: Planted 10 in place of some old evergreens in Fall 2004, then extended the line with 14 more in Fall 2005. We had to replace two of the older ones in 2005.
The growth is slower than we had hoped, but we are patient. Even though these are all the same cultivar, the older ones are fuller and rounder than the newer ones, and don't look very similar. Four died in fall 2007 so we'll have to replace them in 2008. |
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Plant: River Clump Birch
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/3/05
Notes: Planted in back yard in 2005, then moved to the front yard on 5/28/06 where it will have more room to grow. Clematis Piilu is growing into it and blends in perfectly. |
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Plant: Double Mock Orange
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/3/05
Notes: Approximately two feet tall and just a few branches when it was planted in the back garden. Didn't flower in 2005, 2006, or 2007, but it is over four feet tall now and has filled in very well. Clematis Scartho Gem is planted at its base. Moved the bush and the clematis to the side garden, since it had gotten so large that it was shading the base of our evergreens. |
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Plant: Siberian Spruce "Pimoko"
Source: Seasons Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 10/12/05
Notes: Planted in back garden. Expensive but adorable evergreen.
After extreme heat waves, a branch will die, so it's looking a little sickly on one side. |
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Plant: White Pine
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/27/05
Notes: Planted in front garden where diseased crab apple tree used to be. Finally showing signs of new growth. |
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Plant: Bartlett Pear
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/27/06
Blooms: Early April
Notes: Planted at back of property. Clematis Gravetye Beauty is planted at its base. Doing well for such an inexpensive tree. |
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Plant: Juniper "Hollywood"
Source: Allisonville Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 8/13/06
Notes: Planted in far back garden in place of a large Rose of Sharon tree. It is shorter but much prettier and will provide an evergreen privacy screen in no time. It dropped a ton of needles in summer 2007. |
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Plant: Honeysuckle "Pink Tatarian"
Source: Lowe's
Quantity: 1
Planted: 9/22/06
Notes: Planted in back garden.
Clematis Miniseelik is growing through it.
Growing very quickly, but it did not bloom in 2007, and it has developed excessive growth at the ends of each branch, which I finally pruned. I recently read that this cultivar is considered to be invasive, so it may not stick around too long in my garden. |
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Plant: Mimosa Tree
Source: Nature Hills Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 5/29/07
Notes: Planted in back garden.
Was nearly four feet tall and in good bareroot condition when it arrived. The beautiful foliage filled in quickly. We planted Clematis Venosa Violacea at its base. Moved it to the far back garden where it can spread out to its heart's content. It didn't handle the move well, but based on how quickly it got established after it was first planted, I expect great things from it. |
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Plant: Golden Chain Tree
Source: Spring Hill Nursery
Quantity: 1
Planted: 6/2/07
Notes: Planted in far back garden.
Was over three feet tall and in good bareroot condition when it arrived. |
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Plant: Beautyberry "Amethyst"
Source: Park's Gardens
Quantity: 1
Planted: 6/2/07
Bloomed: Mid-August
Notes: Planted in far back garden. Appears to be healthy. Produced tiny blooms along each stems in August, followed by incredible purple berries all fall. |
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Plant: Musa basjo (Japanese banana tree)
Source: Brent and Becky's Bulbs
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/21/04
Notes: The plant was about a foot
tall when it was planted in 2004, but it was six feet tall by the end of August. It produced several offshoots which we transplanted, but none of the plants survived the winter. We bought two more in 2005 which did just as well. It is supposed to be hardy in our area, but it isn't. I've read that the hardiness only applies if you mulch it very heavily. That doesn't count as hardy to me. However, the price is quite cheap for such an impressive plant. |
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Plant: Viburnum "Blue Muffin"
Source: Bluestone Perennials
Quantity: 1
Planted: 4/30/08
Notes: Planted in back garden. |
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